Sun Yang, of Zhejiang, cracked out the third best time in the world this year over 400m free on the 4th day of action at the Chinese Water Sports Games in Rizhao: in 3:45.22, Sun won the race by a comfortable 4sec margin to tuck himself neatly behind Olympic champion Park Tae Hwan (KOR), on 3:44.73 at Pan Pacs last month, and Olympic silver medallist and China teammate Zhang Lin, on 3:44.91 at Chinese nationals in April. The silver in Rizhao went to Dai Jun, Shanghai, in 3:49.26.
Sun, 19 this year, had a shiny suit best of 3:45.39, his latest effort a substantial personal best in a time of textile-only.
The men's 100m backstroke produced a thriller of a finish, the crown going to another Sun, Sun Xiaolei, of Shanghai, in 55.29, silver to 200m winner, 17-year-old Zhang Fenglin, of Shandong, on 55.47, and bronze shared in 55.64 by Cheng Feiyi, of Liaoning, and He Jianbin, of Guangdong. For Sun, 24, the race marked the form of his life: on 55.54 in 2009, after a best of 55.31 in 2008, his 2007 was a 56.77.
Results at a glance, courtesy of Xinhua:
Men's 50 meters butterfly:
- 1. Zhou Jiawei, Guangdong, 23.81
- 2. Chen Weiwu, Shandong, 24.42
- 3. Liu Jianping, Jiangsu, 24.75
Women's 100 meters breaststroke:
- 1. Chen Huijia, Zhejiang, 1:07.51
- 2. Ji Liping, Shanghai, 1:07.53
- 3. Sun Ye, Shanghai, 1:07.97
Men's 400 meters freestyle:
- 1. Sun Yang, Zhejiang, 3:45.22
- 2. Dai Jun, Shanghai, 3:49.26
- 3. Li Yunqi, Henan, 3:51.80
Women's 50 meters freestyle:
- 1. Li Zhesi, Liaoning, 24.92
- 2. Tang Yi, Shanghai, 25.11
- 3. Jiao Liuyang, Guangzhou Army, 25.16
Men's 100 meters backstroke:
- 1. Sun Xiaolei, Shanghai, 55.29
- 2. Zhang Fenglin, Shandong, 55.47
- 3= Cheng Feiyi, Liaoning/ He Jianbin, Guangdong, 55.64
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay:
- 1. Beijing, 8:03.15
- 2. Zhejiang, 8:05.06
- 2. Shanghai, 8:05.06
Men's 4x100m freestyle relay:
- 1. Shanghai, 3:21.82
- 2. Zhejiang, 3:21.94
- 3. Beijing, 3:24.41
- Jiangsu touched first but was disqualified for a faulty takeover.
